Monday.com

[bobgaggle]

(Mods, yall move this if there's a more appropriate forum for this thread.(

Anyone use project management apps like monday.com? I started poking around it last week and while it seems to be a dolled up glorified excel spreadsheet, I like how its entirely online and all the benefits it brings, like automated updates, share ability etc, and importantly the ability to integrate with other apps. I keep drawing files on google drive, and while they offer integration, it appears you can only open a native drive file (google docs/sheets etc) from within Monday. I would love to be able to open a .dwg file directly from Monday. It would make my workflow a lot smoother. Rather than look at my to do list in monday, then go into cad or my desktop drive folder and locate/open the right file, it would be awesome to have a link to the right file I could click in Monday.

Anyone use management programs like these? What's your experience?

 

[sk8rsdad]

smartsheet.com is probably the market leader in the segment. Pretty much any app is not going to support every possible renderer so opening a .dwg is unlikely to be native to the app. Most of them support APIs and other integrations so you could probably tweak it to launch one of the online renderers.

online dwg renderer at DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.

duckduckgo.com

 

[kicknargel]

I'm not familiar with Monday, but I've used Asana for years for project and task management. The big thing for me is the way you can list out everything that needs to be done for a project, then assign the tasks to people who can organize them into their own task lists across projects. Or similarly, I can build a materials list for every unit we have to build for every project we're working on, and then get a list for everything we need to buy at a specific vendor for every current project. And the free version is pretty good; I'm almost ashamed I never upgraded.

I also use airtable for lightweight database-type work. It feels like a spreadsheet, but cells can contain pictures or checkboxes or drop-downs, etc.

 

[MNicolai]

I've played with Trello, Smartsheet, Teams, OmniFocus, various versions of something in Excel, shared Google Docs, etc --- Ultimately every time the problem was that something was too hard to use for a particular function and different people would or would not use it so it would fall apart. The solutions I've seen work the best are the ones that were simplest.

I keep a shared OneDrive folder with my team. If want someone's input on something, you generate PDF's and people can mark it up in Bluebeam (the absolute best PDF software out there). In Bluebeam, I can create sessions that anyone can log into and mark up drawings collaboratively (my seat that starts the session is the only one that needs to be paid for. Anyone invited can log into sessions for free). That way design happens in CAD/Revit and review happens in PDF. I've generally found it best to divorce those two from one another. In a two-monitor setup, design can happen on one monitor and review on the other, but if I attempt an all-in-one process it usually slows me down and makes it easier for me to get distracted.

Monday mornings I host a call with my team where I draft an email with what was completed last week and through discussion we generate a hit list of action items people are knocking out this week. Then at the end of the meeting I send the email to everyone. Whether they use that to track their progress or have their own system doesn't matter to me but next week we want to be crossing last week's items off the list whenever possible. Usually I print that list off and stick on a clipboard and attack it with a highlighter and a sharpie during the week. I also use a whiteboard to map my week out at a high altitude. Then I have an area for "TODAY" where I map the day out more specifically (8am - call so and so, 9am VOGC, 11am Coronado, etc.). I hardly ever stay perfectly on track but I find that days/weeks where I religiously maintain the whiteboard throughout the week end up being much more productive than the weeks where I improvise.

I also have a folder that's just shortcuts to active project folders so I can navigate the file server quickly. Also helps having every project folder generally follow the same folder hierarchy.

I wouldn't dis any software solution but what I've found in my own experience is that the novelty of those solutions fade quickly and in most cases if you can't track your process with a pen and paper, it won't magically get better by leaning a piece of software to do that for you. Your mileage may certainly vary but this is what I've come to learn about myself.

 

[Catherder]

I've used Jira and (now) Azure DevOps for sprints at work. They both have some nice features - they're online, they have virtual task boards so I get the satisfaction of moving my work from planned to completed, the ability to assign tasks to other people and then get alerts when they change status, hierarchical organization of huge end goal to big deliverable to small deliverable to incremental tasks, and the ability to attach files directly to a task. Can't speak to any CAD programs, but I've opened SQL files directly from Jira plenty of times. They both take a LOT of upfront work to configure how you want them, though, and have almost too many bells and whistles. Plus they ain't cheap.

I wouldn't dis any software solution but what I've found in my own experience is that the novelty of those solutions fade quickly and in most cases if you can't track your process with a pen and paper, it won't magically get better by leaning a piece of software to do that for you. Your mileage may certainly vary but this is what I've come to learn about myself.

^^Also this.

 

[mrtrudeau23]

I'm looking for an app that allows a to do list to be shared across devices, and is also free or a minimal one time buy.

During normal times, our lighting shop has my supervisor and myself and usually anywhere from 3 to 8 people (students) working on projects around our building. We usually print out a good old paper list, but these end up getting lost or placed somewhere and forgotten about. Since most everyone has their phones on them I've been thinking a digital list might be easier.

Ideal functions of the program:

• Creating to do items with subtasks.
• Setting a priority for the tasks.
• Easily sharing the program with others for free.
• Assigning items to people the list is shared with.
• Assigning items to a specific space.
• Ability to add notes or images to a task for clarification or for students to add questions.
• Deadlines for tasks.
• Checking off completed items.

I've been experimenting with Todoist and Any.Do. These seem to have some of this functionality, while some of it requires a monthly premium membership. My other thought was trying to achieve some of this functionality by forcing Slack to do some of what I want. Before I go through the app store and download every list app to try them does anyone know of or use something like this to coordinate their workdays for a crew of people?

Thanks in advance!

 

[macsound]

I'm looking for an app that allows a to do list to be shared across devices, and is also free or a minimal one time buy.

During normal times, our lighting shop has my supervisor and myself and usually anywhere from 3 to 8 people (students) working on projects around our building. We usually print out a good old paper list, but these end up getting lost or placed somewhere and forgotten about. Since most everyone has their phones on them I've been thinking a digital list might be easier.

Ideal functions of the program:

• Creating to do items with subtasks.
• Setting a priority for the tasks.
• Easily sharing the program with others for free.
• Assigning items to people the list is shared with.
• Assigning items to a specific space.
• Ability to add notes or images to a task for clarification or for students to add questions.
• Deadlines for tasks.
• Checking off completed items.

I've been experimenting with Todoist and Any.Do. These seem to have some of this functionality, while some of it requires a monthly premium membership. My other thought was trying to achieve some of this functionality by forcing Slack to do some of what I want. Before I go through the app store and download every list app to try them does anyone know of or use something like this to coordinate their workdays for a crew of people?

Thanks in advance!

Although I haven't been looking for a solution like this lately, when I was, what was annoying was if I wanted to print out a list or any view of the software, my only solution was a screenshot, which isn't very useful.
I can think of times in a physical shop where it's nice for the info to be on your phone, but you don't really want to be holding your phone when on a ladder and a piece of paper would be nice.

 

[Catherder]

I'm looking for an app that allows a to do list to be shared across devices, and is also free or a minimal one time buy.

During normal times, our lighting shop has my supervisor and myself and usually anywhere from 3 to 8 people (students) working on projects around our building. We usually print out a good old paper list, but these end up getting lost or placed somewhere and forgotten about. Since most everyone has their phones on them I've been thinking a digital list might be easier.

Ideal functions of the program:

• Creating to do items with subtasks.
• Setting a priority for the tasks.
• Easily sharing the program with others for free.
• Assigning items to people the list is shared with.
• Assigning items to a specific space.
• Ability to add notes or images to a task for clarification or for students to add questions.
• Deadlines for tasks.
• Checking off completed items.

I've been experimenting with Todoist and Any.Do. These seem to have some of this functionality, while some of it requires a monthly premium membership. My other thought was trying to achieve some of this functionality by forcing Slack to do some of what I want. Before I go through the app store and download every list app to try them does anyone know of or use something like this to coordinate their workdays for a crew of people?

Thanks in advance!

It’s not fancy but what about google docs or google sheets? Doesn’t have the bells and whistles you might be looking for in the ideal solution but a collaborative living document can often get the job done. Plus, to @macsound point, you can print them. Sometimes “low” tech is the best tech.

 

[cbrandt]

It’s not fancy but what about google docs or google sheets? Doesn’t have the bells and whistles you might be looking for in the ideal solution but a collaborative living document can often get the job done. Plus, to @macsound point, you can print them. Sometimes “low” tech is the best tech.

On that note, Google Keep has good tools for shared checklists and note pads. It still doesn't allow for assigning to people, but works nicely. I use it for live grocery lists, and it works well for that.

 

[kicknargel]

I'm looking for an app that allows a to do list to be shared across devices, and is also free or a minimal one time buy.

I know I'm late here, but Asana will meet this brief in the free version.

 

[bobgaggle]

as followup and in answer to @mrtrudeau23 , we ditched monday and switched over to airtable. It works great for us an hits all of your points, the only sticky one would be creating subtasks, but would be managable depending on how you setup your views. Biggest problem for me was shifting over to working in a database rather than a spreadsheet. very similar functions but a different way of thinking and structuring it.

 

[mrtrudeau23]

as followup and in answer to @mrtrudeau23 , we ditched monday and switched over to airtable. It works great for us an hits all of your points, the only sticky one would be creating subtasks, but would be managable depending on how you setup your views. Biggest problem for me was shifting over to working in a database rather than a spreadsheet. very similar functions but a different way of thinking and structuring it.

I will check this out. Thanks!